Nurses blooming over tulip delivery: hospital
Dutch princess's floral gift continues post-war tradition
Nurses and staff at The Ottawa Hospital's Civic campus accepted 100 bouquets of tulips sent by the Embassy of the Netherlands on Wednesday.
Suzanne Madore, the hospital's chief nursing executive, said people were pleasantly surprised when they were offered tulips on behalf of Princess Juliana.
“Flowers bring a smile to people's faces,” she said.
The delivery was a token of gratitude for the hospital's role in Princess Margriet's birth in the Ottawa hospital on Jan. 19, 1943. After the Nazi occupation of her country, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands accepted an invitation to come to Canada in 1940.
My sincere congratulations on this festive occasion. I wish you a wonderful celebration and a bright future
When she gave birth to Princess Margriet at the Ottawa Civic Hospital, the Canadian government temporarily declared the room where she was born extraterritorial — outside Canadian jurisdiction — to ensure the newborn princess would hold an exclusively Dutch nationality.
In a video message sent to The Ottawa Hospital, Princess Margriet said: “My mother presented Dutch tulips to Canada after the war. A gift, a gesture that has continued ever since.”
In an interview, Madore said The Ottawa Hospital's Civic campus is celebrating its 100th anniversary on Nov. 27.
In her video message, Princess Margriet acknowledged this milestone.
“Now the Civic Hospital is 100 years old,” Princess Margriet said. “My sincere congratulations on this festive occasion. I wish you a wonderful celebration and a bright future with a lasting contribution to good health for all the residents of my hometown.”
Madore said the tulips could not have come at a better time. “Not only in recognition of the organization as a whole and the Civic Hospital, but also our staff — it's nurses' week!”